“I do not like to speak Spanish in public,” she said, hoping he and his bright, inquisitive eyes would just go away.
“Well, could I practice with you? I am having problems in my Spanish class.”
Kate (“Katiana,” her mother whispers in accented English) twirls a dyed blonde strand of her hair. She prays he has not heard her call home.
“No. I do not remember that much, anyway. I am sorry.”
“Lo siento, tambien,” he says, walking away.
That night, she hears Univision from her mother’s television and cries. It is a melodramatic soap opera.
She understands every word.